my school refers to any SEN as bad parenting or attachment disorder.

[Bumbalaya]

I work in a primary school in Key Stage 1 and I am becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of support we give children with SEN.
The head is supposedly the SENCo but there are the things that I am struggling with:

-Any child displaying dyslexic tendencies is not supported as such and is only tested (at the earliest) in Year 3.

-Any child displaying ASD has either "bad parents without boundaries" or 'attachment disorder" the SENCo doesn't really seem to believe in ASD neither know much about it and the various forms.
-Children with memory problems or processing speed difficulties are just told that they have a low work ethic (5 year olds!!) and that it must be the parent's fault for not pushing them.
-As a class teacher, I am given no power to implement changes in the way we might deal with children displaying anxiety, the head and all her unquestioning followers agree that the parents are anxious so it's their fault and its up to them to deal with, not us.
-Any child who is difficult to remove from the playground is wrapping their parent round their finger and the parents are "bad at parenting"
-A child who had a diagnosis of ADHD spent most of his last 2 years sat out of class to reflect on their behaviours, the head refused to acknowledge the diagnosis because it was obtained privately. The parents were labelled as "dolally" by the staff and the finger was yet again pointed at parents and attachment disorder was apparently what was at play.
-The minute a child displays "bad behaviour" everyone starts writing child protection forms about them rather than looking at the antecedent.

I am sick of being batted off (probably not as sick as the parents are) when I want to support children and work with parents who have childrenwith particular barriers to their learning.

I've even heard one of the teachers call a suspected ASD child as 'Naughty boy' syndrome.

I feel like we are in the dark ages when it comes to SEN and I don't know where to turn.

I may even apply for another job because I leave feeling so guilty about the way we are dealing with these children (or not dealing)

The school is very successful because we are based in an affluent area and I am worried about whistle blowing because it might be obvious that it's me.

I just don't feel on the same page as my colleagues anymore.

What can I do?

Thanks.

Are you qualified to diagnose or have these children got actual diagnoses?

You could ring ousted. They are breaking the law. They have specific legal obligations to these children which are not optional.

You could contact IPSEA for advice.

You could write a complaint to the DfE.

You could speak to the local authority - regardless of whether this is an academy or not the local authority have legal obligations to the children.

You could speak to chair of governors.

Advice sources inc CDC and independent supporters and SENDIASS

Hope this helps - dashing hence its being a bit brief!!

*ofsted

Missmarplesknitting the school has the obligation to present and future SEND kids. The heads attitude is abhorrent. The rate of SEND is 14% - there are going to be SEND kids in the school. And finally, it’s s needs based system, the first step is a teacher assessment and that means the kids needs are assessed and adjustments put in place. You don’t have to have a diagnosis to access support as that would leave kids languishing for years.

Thank you.
I am not qualified no, but just doing absolutely nothing when a child presents with barriers to learning is something I am not comfortable with. I need some guidance so that I can support these children appropriately and it is just not there.
I even feel that parents are slightly bullied by staff if their child/ren are not the round shaped pegs we need for an easy life.

How effective and engaged are your governors? Are they merely yes people for the head or do they get involved in school life?

I'm a parent governor and we regularly visit school to look at different things so we can see if the head is telling us the truth in reports! There is also a governor with responsibility for SEN so you could perhaps find out who that governor is and raise concerns.

Totally agree however, there are situations where I have seen issues blown out of proportion.

The child who had 'ADHD' and it turned out was up half the night playing computer games was one. That was just awful parenting.

It's a fine edge, the school definitely has to investigate and refer on though if they suspect an SEN issue but honestly there are situations where parents don't help.

I can see both sides, but where kids are presenting then they should be referring on for testing and assessment.

Thank you OP. As a parent of a boy who almost certainly has ADHD, SPD and maybe ASD, I have had all sorts of accusations thrown at me over the last six years. Some have been subtle and some have been outright, but the message has been the same: it’s my fault.

When they realise I’m head of a core department in a tough secondary school, they sometimes change their tune. When they meet my younger, NT son, they usually do. It’s tiring enough being the parent of a child with SEN, made worse by the attitude of some professionals. For those parents who don’t know how the system works, or aren’t articulate enough to battle it, it must be even more soul destroying.

Please find a way to speak out. Speak to a governor. Ask if you can take on the senco role. Ask for more Sen training.

Some of this sounds awful and I agree with comments above .Not diagnosiing dyslexia before Year 3 however makes sense as most of the diagnostic tests are reliable for this age and above.This doesn’t mean that steps shouldn’t be taken to meet a child’s needs before Y3 though.

Sounds like the dark ages. I Fear little will change here. If that's the Head's view, it's not REALLY going to change is it? Even if she's sacked?

Sounds awful for both staff and children. Speak up (and gather evidence) if you can for everyone's sake. Hopefully a new head will change attitude and outcomes for the children in time.

Op definitely report to offsted and also head of children’s services at your local council.

As the mum of a 6 year old with asd and learning disabilities (who actually goes to complex needs school) reading your post made me furious and sad in equal measures. People who think like this have no place working with children.

Sounds very like DSs primary school right down to area. He was finally diagnosed with severe learning difficulties and associated cognitive delays in Yr7. They tried to blame his 'naughtiness' on lack of boundaries and immaturity (he was operating as a 6 yr old at age 12 so no shit) totally not taking into account his high achieving, never put a foot wrong twin brother.

When I wrote a letter informing them of his diagnosis to suggest they listen to parents to prevent similar delays in referrals, the Head didn't even acknowledge it unsurprisingly.

Although mind you the Head at his 'Outstanding' secondary didn't believe his diagnosis meant that he should be treated any differently either.

Worst case scenario is that you'll probably lose your job if you whistle blow and find it difficult to move elsewhere. Depends if you can cope with that?

There’s a person who works at a well-known teacher training college in England who says that in her opinion, ADD actually means ‘Absent Dad Disorder’.

It's an awful attitude but it does still seem to bubble along as an undercurrent in some schools. We have a class teacher this year who is like this - and I know it has been raised further up the management structure about the teacher in question. In our case thankfully it's one bad apple in a generally brilliant school so I'm just being very very on the case when required and working with the SENCO to make sure that things run as well as they can for my child (and the other kids) in that class - goes totally against my nature of really wanting to work well with the school and be on good terms with the teachers to have to be like that, and I'm lovely and obliging and helpful and civil to the teacher in question, but it's exhausting to have to constantly fight to keep provision in place and not being sabotaged.

'The child who had 'ADHD' and it turned out was up half the night playing computer games was one. That was just awful parenting. '

Many children with ADHD will be up half the night due to sleep disorders as a result of their ADHD - their brain has difficulty producing a hormone called melatonin which causes drowsiness. As for playing computer games at night being bad parenting - well clearly that's not ideal, but it's easy to criticise when you are not the parent awake till 4 or 5 a.m. every single night trying to occupy your child and avoid the rest of the household being disturbed. A bit of empathy with parents who are struggling in situations like this goes a long way.

Wow this is shocking. Yes sometimes behaviours and crap parenting can mimic disorders, however to be do bluntly black and white about it all is ridiculous. It's scary to think that the head/SENCO is responsible for the wellbeing of vulnerable children. My child could easily appear distracted and lacking enough parental support, but how would the SENCO explain the genetic disorder my son is diagnosed with that explains his struggles.
Many children never receive genetic testing, it doesn't mean that they don't have a disorder.

This is absolutely shocking- like reading something from the dark ages.